40

Final Farewell

Location: West End, Tortola, BVI

Day 40 or fly day for 12 of the 16 crew members aboard Ocean Star. Starting at 4:30 this morning taxis began to depart from Road Town, shuttling our shipmates to the airport. At first they left one at a time, but soon in masses, leaving only the four staff members on board by 9 am. Soon after waving goodbye to the last group, Ocean Star had to be maneuvered off the dock to a nearby anchorage. Going from 32 to 8 hands is quite different, particularly when you have to cast off the six lines connecting you to a dock and then drop a 200 pound anchor in 40 feet of water. Those hands were particularly missed when the brand new main sail was delivered and had to be heaved on top of the boom and rigged onto the mast. Once the new sail was flaked and secured on the boom we motored to West End, finally returning Ocean Star to her home after many nautical miles at sea. These past 40 days have been unbelievable. Parents, each and every one of your children is an amazing individual and without them this trip would never have been quite as epic. Shipmates, it has been a pleasure getting to know you over the past few weeks and the whole staff wishes you the best of luck and maybe again one day we will see you tacking your way through the Saints or hiking a mountain in Dominica